Over the last 15 years, Brookhaven Linac Isotope Producer (BLIP) has been used for the continuous production of radionuclides such as 82Sr, and 68Ge. Its design has been constantly evolving to accommodate larger targets and higher proton currents. Simultaneous irradiation of multiple targets at high energies (up to 200 MeV) and proton current (165 µA) has now become possible at BLIP. For the irradiation, the targets are manufactured by placing the target material into a can which is then hermetically sealed and placed in series to form an array. Each target in the array is placed such that it is spaced apart adequately to accommodate gap for water cooling. The fixed target array and demand for continuous production of 82Sr targets make the irradiation of research targets highly challenging. In the last 10 years, Dr. Leonard Mausner has led an effort to overcome these challenges. A number of approaches which facilitated synergetic irradiation of research and production targets have been developed. Specifically, he led the design of a novel target can for the production of a theranostic radioisotope, 67Cu, from electroplated 68Zn disks. The can consisted of two parts that were sealed with eight Allen screws, with target material positioned in a well, machined in one of the parts. This design was further adapted for research irradiations of various target materials both enriched and natural aiming to produce radioisotopes, such as 86Y, 225Ac, 72Se, and many others. The evolution of the target design, along with the results of irradiation experiments will be detailed in the talk.

Challenges and opportunities in radioisotope research and development irradiations at Brookhaven Linac isotope producer

256th National Meeting (2018)

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